There are two videos below, the first gives only the chapter heading, sub headings and sections, of book 3, chapter 3 of Calvin’s Institutes, it is about 8 minutes in length.
The second video, is a reading of the initial nine sections of chapter 3, Regeneration by Faith, Of Repentance, 24 minutes.
Those nine sections contain a discussion and definition of repentance.
I am posting it because it is in harmony with the 5 step “struggle of faith” proposed by Jonathan Edwards, which I used in the Sinner’s Prayer posts (for the Sinner’s Prayer post, see Categories, Jonathan Edwards).
Furthermore, I thought it very important to expose new Christians (and older Christians in unbiblical churches) to a discussion about the necessity of mortifying sin; the necessity of knowing oneself as God sees him (as is stated in scripture); the necessity of observing, owning and confessing his sin… throughout his life.
Calvin lays these things out in an understandable manner.
In sections 1 and 2 (initial 6 minutes), he discusses some wrongly held views of repentance; thereafter, he explains aspects of biblical repentance.
I think that he says many things that will resonate with those who are currently fighting against their own sin and learning repentance.
Calvin’s words, in sections 3-9, describe that the Holy Spirit humbles born-again believers; moves them to biblically see their plight and be terror struck; mourn their sin; to desire Christ’s righteousness; to deny themselves and surrender to Christ; to rest and to trust in Him.
Those experiences are blessings worked in believers by the Holy Spirit. Yes, seeing one’s sin and being troubled by it are necessary and are blessings that move one onward, by faith, towards the prize (as in Philippians 3:12-21); towards learning dependency on God (not self).
If one doesn’t see his sin, then he experiences no troubling of conscience…and becomes self-satisfied…and his conscience is hardened, dulled; and he has no problem abiding in sin. In fact, he has probably dealt with it by redefining it (rationalizing, that is what the field of psychology is all about, and we have all been well instructed in it by the media).
Calvin explains the role that mortification of sin plays in the aforementioned.
Calvin’s explanation provides much more information than that 5 stage process outlined by Jonathan Edwards (pasted in below videos). But if you know them both, then you can see that Edwards was correct in describing salvation as a process; and in the labels he applied to those stages.
These two men were greatly blessed by God as preachers and teachers of the faith. It is doubtful that few, if any teachers, preachers today know and teach scripture as well as these men did.
The information in this post indicates that the preachers and evangelists today, who teach that all one needs to do is to sign a card and pray a prayer and he is born again, err greatly! They are not biblical teachers; they should be shunned in favor of teachers of the true, biblical path of salvation.
Video one: Chapter title, sub-headings, and sections of book 3, chapter 3:
Video two: sections 1 – 9 of book 3, chapter 3:
Edwards established a 5 stage process which he termed, the struggle of faith: 1) horror of being eternally lost; 2), the sinner’s attempt to stop sinning via his will power; 3), realization that only God can save him from sin; 4), conviction, the sinner beginning to see that God’s judgment is just; 5), awakening to God with genuine religious affections.
The following prominent Christians spent many years between stages 1 and 5 of Edwards standard of assessment for genuine conversion:
John Calvin, 12 years; Wesley, 23 years; Whitefield, 10 years; Fox, 12 years; Edwards, 5 years; Brainerd, 9 years; Newton, 6 years; Spurgeon, 4 years….
I am left thinking (after 15 years of calling myself a Christian), “Where am I on this scale?” The criteria of stages 3 and 4 are very familiar to me; not so with 5.
At what stage are you?
In my words, regarding my own struggle with those steps:
Step 2: I have spent most of my walk trying to stop sinning and be obedient in my own strength. I keep finding that it is not possible. In fact, about 5 years in, I felt helplessness to do so and realized that without Christ, I was doomed. Yet, quitting that old habit of performance-based righteousness is a very, very difficult thing to do. God the Holy Spirit has continued to reveal my props to me; and there seem to be much fewer remaining, yet, they are in my go-to tool kit. Being very honest about my sin with God, and examining my failures to understand what I am trusting in have caused me to discard many of those props as useless. And Christ’s words, from John 15, e.g. that I can do nothing without Him, keep recurring to me. I have begun to pray for deliverance from this mindset, this unbelief, but God has not been pleased to do that yet. I am realizing that I must have more to learn about dependency, about surrender to Christ.
Step 4: My struggle in step 3, has more intimately familiarized me with my sinfulness: its frequency and vileness according to scripture. That is, I am learning that God is exactly correct in His summation of the human condition (see Jeremiah 17: 9 and cross references), that His judgment is warranted; that I need to receive from Him what He sends to me. (I am blessed to have come to that point; the alternative, self-blessed oblivion about sin is equivalent to embracing destruction. See Ezekiel 36:22 – 38 to learn how God thinks redeemed sinners should view themselves.)
Step 5: Not there yet!
STUDY RECOMMENDATIONS:
***To gain more understanding of the contents of this post, see posts on sin by Dr. Mayfield in this blog: See Categories: John Owen; Calvin’s Institutes: Thomas Brooks.
Dr. Mayfield provides user friendly overviews of these preacher’s teachings about struggling with sin.
***If one should desire to hear the whole of chapter 3, then it is in the following post: See, Categories, Calvin’s Institutes, chapter 3 book 3. (I have posted various readings from Calvin’s Institutes to enable readers to become familiar with his work and his manner of explaining scripture.)
***Part of the recommended verses from Ezekiel; verses that refer to the new covenant which we are under:
Eze 36:29 And I will deliver you from all your uncleannesses. And I will summon the grain and make it abundant and lay no famine upon you.
Eze 36:30 I will make the fruit of the tree and the increase of the field abundant, that you may never again suffer the disgrace of famine among the nations.
Eze 36:31 Then you will remember your evil ways, and your deeds that were not good, and you will loathe yourselves for your iniquities and your abominations.
Eze 36:32 It is not for your sake that I will act, declares the Lord GOD; let that be known to you. Be ashamed and confounded for your ways, O house of Israel.
Or:
Luk 18:13 But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’
(He had shame and asked only for mercy, knowing he could not earn righteousness by any act of his own.)